


Apologies and Second Chances

by BorrowedBlueBox



Series: Home Is Where My Family Is [28]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Apologies, F/M, Gen, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Linda Becket is awesome, M/M, Second Chances, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-06 23:24:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4240641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BorrowedBlueBox/pseuds/BorrowedBlueBox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Richard and Linda Becket show up at Raleigh's home wanting to apologize for the events in Alaska. Relationships are not fixed but new ones are formed.</p><p>Summary sucks, story is better.</p><p>Threequel to "Family Ain't Always Blood (And Blood Ain't Always Family)" and "Mourning the Sad and Celebrating the Happy" if you haven't read those, you should read them before reading this, you won't understand a lot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Apologies and Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> THIS IS THE DOCUMENT I LOST BUT RECOVERED AND REWROTE, IT TOOK ME WAY TOO LONG (OVER 6 HOURS) so I really hope you like it! :)
> 
> This is the third installation of the three part fic that I have been working on for AGES! 
> 
> Threequel to "Family Ain't Always Blood (And Blood Ain't Always Family)" and "Mourning the Sad and Celebrating the Happy" if you haven't read those, you should read them before reading this, you won't understand a lot.
> 
> HUGE shout out to my mom for editing ALL THREE fics (one right after another) at 2-3 AM!! And for helping come up with the name for them! Also, she's promised to keep pestering me to write this so I won't run out of a muse or inspiration. :)
> 
> Beta’d, however, if you see any mistakes please let me know and I’ll fix them right away. The formatting on this got super messed up so if you see any errors, please tell me so I can fix them! 
> 
> Constructive criticism is accepted but please no negativity. Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Pacific Rim. The only thing I own is a computer, internet connection, insomnia, and an account.

"I miss Papa." Keegan said to Raleigh. 

The two were curled up on the couch watching Rise of the Guardians and eating popcorn. Chuck was back in Australia with Herc as moral support. Herc had gotten a call from his brother Scott who wanted to see him. Herc had decided that after what had happened in Alaska, he should at least hear his brother out and Chuck had gone with him to either prevent Herc from killing Scott or to help him hide the body.

"We Skyped with him an hour ago, Keegs." Raleigh chuckled and paused the movie. 

"Yeah but it’s not the same, Daddy." Keegan said and Raleigh tapped her nose. He understood, he missed Chuck as well.

"I know, baby girl. I miss Papa too." Raleigh said.

"The Easter Bunny reminds me of Papa and Grandpa Herc's accents." Keegan explained.

"I want an accent." Keegan looked at Raleigh as if he could fix that for her.

"You do. It's an American accent, more specifically Californian." Raleigh explained.

"Yeah but it's not scary like Papa or the Kaidonovskys!" Keegan said in something close to a whine.

"You want to sound scary like Sasha and Aleksis?" Raleigh asked and his daughter nodded.

"Yes. I would sound very scary. No one would pick on me if I sounded scary." Keegan attempted to say in a Russian accent.

"Oh Keegs. I want to shelter you from the harshness of the world but at the same time I want you to learn, I want you to understand what society is like." Raleigh sighed.

"I know they'd still make fun of me. But I also know that being different isn't a bad thing. And when I'm a doctor or a medical examiner, I won't treat people who are different any differently than I would others who are like me. I will treat everyone the same way. I will help everyone, no one will be left out." Keegan spoke with an air of determination and finality.

"Good. That's all your Papa and I would want from you." Raleigh said and kissed his daughter's head. Keegan pressed the play button on the remote and the movie started back up.

"Can we have more popcorn?" Keegan asked and motioned towards the empty bowl. 

"Yeah sure, I'll go make some more." Raleigh said and made his way into the kitchen grabbing a microwaveable bag of popcorn and putting it in the microwave.

"Hey, we should probably have some lunch too. You in the mood for grilled cheese?" Raleigh asked as Keegan came into the kitchen with their water cups to refill.

"Yes, please." Keegan said and refilled the water cups.

"Okay, let me let Max out back first." Raleigh said and made his way to the sliding door leading into the backyard where Max was currently waiting to be let out.

Raleigh opened the door and walked out into the back as Max ran around the backyard chasing a bird, or at least attempting to.

Keegan was inside pulling out plates and the ingredients for grilled cheese when she heard a knock at the front door.

"Daddy, there's someone at the door!" Keegan called out back before making her way to the front door.

"Keegan." Raleigh warned as his daughter got close to the door.

Raleigh, having an uneasy feeling after hearing his daughter, made his way back inside. There wasn't anyone who would visit, that he could think of and anyone of their family members had keys to their house for emergencies. He quickly made his way to the door and looked out the peephole.

"Daddy." She whined.

"Adults answer the door, okay? Please don't disobey this important rule." Raleigh told his daughter before stepping backwards in shock.

"Daddy?" Keegan asked Raleigh as he began shaking. 

There was another knock and Raleigh snapped to attention.

"Go in my room, call Sasha and Aleksis and tell them to come here. Do not come back out of my room unless I tell you to. Understand?" Raleigh instructed his daughter, handing her his phone and shooing her in the direction of his room.

"But Daddy, who is it?" Keegan asked.

”It's my father." Raleigh said pointed to his bedroom, Keegan nodded and ran into the room while dialing the Kaidonovsky's number.

Raleigh took a deep shaky breath and opened the door to reveal Richard and Linda Becket standing on his porch. Linda had a tight grip on Richard who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"What are you doing here?" Raleigh asked a little warily.

"Oh hello, Raleigh. I'm terribly sorry for dropping by out of the blue. I didn't have a number to contact you." Linda spoke.

"What are you doing here? How did you find me?" Raleigh repeated more firmly.

"I wanted to apologize for what happened in Alaska. And I want him to apologize." Linda spoke.

"I'm not interested in an apology." Raleigh forced out.

Linda sighed and Richard rolled his eyes.

"Look, you probably hate me---" Linda began and Raleigh cut her off.

"I don't hate you, Linda. I hate him." Raleigh clarified.

"I want him to apologize for what he's done. If I had known about you and your siblings before, I would've had him apologize sooner. Please, I want to make this right." Linda spoke with a hint of begging in her voice.

Raleigh sighed, wondering what Yancy would do.

"You can't fix the past." Raleigh said.

"I know but I don't want you and your sister to have to live your lives without a father." Linda explained.

"We have one. My father-in-law, Herc. I have family, I don't need you in my life, Richard." Raleigh gritted out, venom dripping as he spoke his father's name.

"I'm not asking to be in your life. I just want him to apologize and..." She trailed off with a sigh.

_"You know, if I ever saw him again. I'd have a lot to say to him, kid. I'd obviously punch him but I'd also want to talk to him. Even if it was just for one last time." Raleigh remembered a conversation he'd had with Yancy years ago while the two were in the Academy._

Raleigh sighed and opened the door to let the two in.

"I'm doing this for Yancy. Back in the Academy, he said he wished he had the opportunity for one last conversation." Raleigh said as he saw Sasha pull up to his curb.

"Thank you. Again, I am sorry about your brother. I visited his grave and your mother's. I left flowers." Linda spoke, her voice breaking near the end.

"Thank you." Raleigh said as he motioned for the two to follow him to the dining room table. He left the door open behind him for Sasha and Aleksis to come in.

"Give me two minutes and then you'll have my full attention." Raleigh said as Sasha strolled in, looking extremely intimidating, Aleksis right behind also looking equally intimidating as his wife.

"It's okay. Just, uh, stay, please? Just in case things escalate. Keegan's in my room, you can take her to her room." Raleigh stammered out.

"Sure thing, brother." Aleksis spoke in his loud and thick Russian accent, emphasizing the last word.

"We will be here if you need us." Sasha added.

"Would you like me to call Jazmine?" Sasha asked as Aleksis made his way to Raleigh and Chuck's bedroom.

"Uh, yeah, please. Tell her she doesn't have to come over if she doesn't want to. Make sure you tell her that I'm honoring one of Yancy's wishes, please. I need her to know that. I'm not doing this for them but for Yancy…" Raleigh rambled, voice breaking and beginning to shake a bit.

"Of course. Call and I will be by your side faster than you can say Cherno Alpha." Sasha said and gave Raleigh a reassuring kiss on the cheek, wiping the lipstick off his cheek, and squeezing his hand before walking towards where Aleksis was guiding Keegan to her room. 

Raleigh gave Keegan a smile and a thumbs up when he saw her concerned expression. She nodded in understanding.

Raleigh turned around and made his way back to the dining table where Linda and Richard were talking.

"No, you will stay here and you will behave or I swear to God, no one will find your body." She snapped quietly to her husband.

Raleigh smirked before speaking.

"Can I get you anything to drink? Water? Coffee? Tea?" He asked, his mother had raised him and his siblings to be polite after all.

"No thank you, that' s very kind of you though. Thank you." Linda said and Raleigh nodded, sitting in a chair across from Richard.

It was silent for a moment before Raleigh spoke up.

"Sasha, the frightening looking woman you just saw, is calling Jazmine. Whether or not she comes here is up to her." Raleigh informed the two. Linda nodded, Richard remaining passive.

"Also, Chuck's not here or you wouldn't have even made it inside the house. However, that does not mean that if you get physical, I won't have those two former Russian prison guards haul your ass out of here, Richard." Raleigh spoke making sure they understood.

"He will be on his best behavior or he will have me to answer to." Linda spoke up and Raleigh nodded.

"Yancy… What happened to him?" Richard asked after a moment.

"He was killed by a kaiju. We were jaeger pilots, piloted Gipsy Danger. The kaiju ripped him right out of the jaeger." Raleigh said and Richard nodded, passive look on his face still. That pissed Raleigh off.

"I felt him die." Raleigh gritted out and Richard looked at him with an expression on his face that Raleigh thought could’ve been grief.

"Drifting, it connects your minds. It was still active when he was ripped out and killed." Raleigh explained and felt an unfamiliar hand on his. He turned to see that Linda had covered his hand and was squeezing it.

"I'm terribly sorry. I know that sorry will not bring him back and for that I'm also sorry." Linda spoke up. Raleigh nodded.

"Jaeger pilots, huh?" Richard asked.

"Yeah, Yance and I signed up shortly after Jazmine left." Raleigh said.

"Jazmine left?" Linda asked.

"After Richard left, she couldn't take it and ran away. I only reunited with her in the last year." Raleigh explained.

Raleigh could hear Aleksis speaking distantly in Keegan’s room, he heard Aleksis say something about letting Mako know. Raleigh lightly chuckled, of course she'd call, and of course she’d be able to sense something was off.

Linda and Richard looked at him curiously.

"Aleksis, the giant mountain of a man, is talking to my copilot Mako who has most likely called because she can sense something is off with me." Raleigh explained. 

“It's part of the drift, you drift with someone and it's like you're always connected, or at least that's what it's been like in my experiences.” Raleigh added.

"Copilot? I thought Yancy piloted with you?" Richard asked, his voice thick.

"Until 2020 when he died, yes. Then in 2025 when the breach was closed, I was called back to action and was given a new copilot to pilot Gipsy Danger." Raleigh said. 

"She's nice, smarter than anyone else and will make sure you know it in a subtle way. She’s one hell of fighter too." Raleigh laughed.

“Is she Keegan's mother?" Linda asked.

"No. I adopted Keegan, she has no mother." Raleigh answered.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Everyone thinks Mako and I are together when we talk about each other. No, we're not together." Raleigh clarified.

"Oh. But you are married?" Linda asked and pointed to Raleigh's wedding ring.

"Yeah." Raleigh said, wondering if he should tell them about Chuck or not for less than a minute before thinking, ‘fuck it, if they don't approve, it's no skin off my back.' 

"Chuck, uh, is my husband. He's Keegan's other father." Raleigh said and braced himself for whatever was to come next. 

Raleigh watched his father’s face for any sign of emotion but didn’t see anything negative.

"That is wonderful." Linda said sincerely with a smile.

"I ---" Richard began before trailing off with a sigh. Linda looked at him with a curious expression.

"I would like to know more about you and Jazmine. I’d like to know more about your lives." Richard spoke.

"I'm not sure if that's something you deserve. You told us you didn't care about us." Raleigh shot back.

"I did and I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean it. I--- Losing your mother was hard for me as well. Hearing that Yancy had died and that I didn’t even know, that was hard and heartbreaking as well. I've already lost two people who are special to me, I don't think I want to lose two more." Richard explained.

"At least not if I can help it. If you and your sister refuse, then I will go. I do not wish to cause you anymore grief." Richard spoke, looking at Raleigh and Raleigh saw the most honest expression he'd ever seen across his father's face.

"Okay. I can't speak for Jazmine. But I will tell you about my life." Raleigh said after a brief moment of silence.

"Sorry to disturb, I spoke with Jazmine. She is stuck at work but wants to talk as well. She asked me to get you to convince them to stay so she could talk to them after she got off work." Sasha spoke walking into the room, handing Raleigh his phone.

"We have no other plans. We would be more than happy to see her when she gets off of work." Linda spoke and Richard nodded his head.

"I will let her know. I’m just going to grab sandwich ingredients." Sasha spoke as she moved quickly into the kitchen, grabbing the bread, peanut butter, jelly and a knife before the three at the table could reply. 

"I will be back there, call me if you need me." Sasha called over her shoulder as she made her way back to Keegan's room.

"That's Sasha. She's frighteningly fast. Well, she's just frightening in general but she's family." Raleigh explained.

"When you say family..." Linda began.

"She's a former jaeger pilot as well. She and her husband, Aleksis, piloted Cherno Alpha. The remaining living jaeger pilots are part of my family, as well as a few other people who worked for the Pan Pacific Defense Corps." Raleigh explained and the two others nodded.

"So, you are married and have a kid." Richard said.

"Yes. Chuck and I are married and we adopted Keegan two years ago when she was four. She’s six now." Raleigh answered.

"What do you do for a living now?" Richard asked.

"I'm in construction. I rebuild houses and buildings that were damaged in the War. Most of the PPDC members do something in the field of picking the world back up. I work with Sasha and Aleksis, actually." Raleigh said.

"That is very admirable. My father worked in construction." Linda told Raleigh who nodded in acknowledgement.

"Would it be off limits to ask if I could consider your daughter my granddaughter?" Richard asked carefully.

"That's up to her." Raleigh said.

"In a bit, I'll see if she wants to come out and meet you. Both of you." Raleigh added and gave both of the other adults a small smile.

"She's a great kid. She's the reason I even looked you up. She makes you want to be a better person." Raleigh said proudly. 

"Would you tell me about her?" Richard asked.

Raleigh nodded and pulled up a picture of him, Chuck and Keegan that Herc had taken. Chuck and Raleigh had fallen asleep on their couch and Keegan was sandwiched in between them asleep as well.

"This is one of my favorite pictures of the three of us, uh Chuck, Keegan and myself." Raleigh clarified as he handed the phone to his father who turned it a bit so Linda could see as well.

“It's a good picture. You all look happy." Richard said and Raleigh released the breath of air he didn’t realize he had been holding. 

"This is another good one." Raleigh said after Richard had handed his phone back. He scrolled through and found one of the pictures he’d taken of Keegan and Cheung sitting on the couch, Cheung's leg propped up still in a cast, and the two of them reading a medical book on broken bones. He passed the phone over to his father.

"This is Cheung Wei; he's another jaeger pilot and Keegan's number one fan. He broke his leg in a basketball game and Keegan took care of him the whole time. They're reading a medical textbook about broken bones. She wants to be a doctor or a medical examiner." Raleigh explained and smiled proudly as he talked about his daughter.

"I know it seems concerning but she's imaginative and she knows what she wants to do with her life already. She wants to help people. I couldn't be any more supportive or proud of her." Raleigh said defensively.

"The world needs more caring doctors." Richard spoke, voice breaking and Raleigh knew he was thinking of the many doctors his mother had seen when she was sick and dying.

"Chuck isn't--- Okay, let me think how to explain Chuck. It's difficult." Raleigh said and laughed.

"He's a cocky little shit, pardon my language ma'am. But he's also kind. He grew up in jaegers and the jaeger Academy. He was twenty-one when we closed the Breach and he nearly died. Since then, he's been a better version of himself. But he's very protective and that's why he punched you." Raleigh said after a moment.

"I understand where he was coming from." Richard said and handed Raleigh his phone back. Raleigh was about to put it into his pocket when it rang, a picture of Chuck and Keegan covered in paint appearing on his screen.

"Speaking of the ginger devil, it's Chuck. I gotta take this or he'll put himself on the first plane out." Raleigh said and added, "Just give me a minute." 

"Hey, Chuck." Raleigh answered.

"Is he in our fucking house?" Chuck growled.

Herc could be heard in the background telling Chuck that he was going to crush the cardboard pizza box and Herc would kill him if he ruined his pizza.

"Yes. It's okay though. I want to do this.” Raleigh spoke as he got up and moved to the back door, opening it and letting Max in who had been waiting at the door.

“It started as honoring a wish of Yancy's but it's something I want. I feel happier, Chuck." Raleigh said, whispering the last sentence in a reverent tone.

"If he hurts you or Keegan or Jazmine I will fucking snap his neck." Chuck threatened.

"Sasha and Aleksis are here too. I'm sure they'd be willing to carry that out for you. But I don't see it being necessary." Raleigh said.

"Good. Oh for fuck's sake old man, you act as if it's been forever since you've had pizza!" Chuck swore at his father who Raleigh heard in the background yell at Chuck to not call him that and to hand over his fucking pizza. Raleigh laughed.

"Sounds like you've got your own father to deal with. Be nice and feed him, Chuck. Keegan's really attached to him. I'll talk to you later. I love you." Raleigh said.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll see if I come back with the old man or not. Ow fuck, why the fuck did you throw a pillow at me you fucking arsehole? Raleigh, I gotta go, gonna show this old man not to fuck with Striker Eureka's pilot. I love you too." Chuck replied and Raleigh could hear Herc yelling that he was also a pilot for Striker Eureka and that Chuck better shut up and let him eat his pizza in peace. Raleigh said goodbye one last time before hanging up.

"Sorry about that, like I said, he's protective." Raleigh said and sat back down, Max making his way out of the room and heading for Keegan's room.

"That's Max. He may not look it but he's Keegan's personal body guard." Raleigh laughed.

Raleigh was answering questions that Richard and Linda were directing at him, asking more about his life and about the times Richard had missed, when Max came waddling to Raleigh, dumping a piece of paper by his side.

Raleigh picked it up and unfolded it to find Sasha's immaculate handwriting saying that Keegan was wondering if she could come out and meet them since they were being nice. He rolled his eyes at the fact that his daughter and the Kaidonovskys were eavesdropping, but he didn't blame them either.

"So Keegan wants to come out and meet you. Would you be okay with that?" Raleigh asked.

"I, uh, I would like that very much." Richard stammered and Raleigh could see his father get anxious.

"Don't be afraid, she's kinder than anyone else in the world. Her Uncle Tendo is pretty sure she's an angel or something and he doesn’t even believe in that stuff. That’s just how great she is." Raleigh said reassuring his father and Linda. The two adults nodded.

"You can come out here if you want to." Raleigh said loudly and Keegan's door flew open, the girl running out, followed by Sasha, Max, and Aleksis. Keegan stopped next to Raleigh's chair with a big smile on her face.

"Keegan, this is my father Richard and his wife Linda. This is my daughter, Keegan." Raleigh introduced. 

"Hello." Keegan said and held her hand out, Richard and Linda both shaking her hand and greeting her.

"Raleigh, I was wondering if you'd like to have them over here for dinner. Jazmine suggested it; since that's the time she'll be getting off and coming over.” Sasha whispered into Raleigh's ear and Raleigh nodded.

"Would you guys like to stay for dinner? Jazmine suggested it, she'll be getting off around that time." Raleigh spoke up.

"And in the meantime, I can show you our photo albums." Keegan said and looked at her father for permission. Raleigh nodded his head and she grinned widely.

"That would be lovely, thank you. And yes, we would love to see the photo albums." Linda spoke.

"It's breakfast for dinner night, Daddy. Are we still doing that or are we going to change it?" Keegan asked. The three Becket-Hansens were a huge fan of breakfast for dinner nights. 

"That means we have pancakes, eggs, sausage, and bacon. We can do something different if you'd like." Raleigh explained.

"That sounds good to me, Linda loves having breakfast for dinner." Richard replied and Linda nodded agreeing that it would be okay.

"Psst, Daddy, are you going to introduce Aunt Sasha and Uncle Aleksis. You're being rude.” Keegan scolded Raleigh causing Aleksis to laugh a booming laugh, Sasha snickering and Keegan giggling as well.

"Right, my bad." Raleigh said and waved the Kaidonovskys over.

"Richard, Linda, this is Sasha Kaidonovsky and her husband Aleksis Kaidonovsky. Guys, this is my father Richard and his wife Linda." Raleigh introduced and Sasha and Aleksis shook their hands.

"Raleigh, did you still need those lights out in your front yard fixed? While I'm here, I might as well save you, Chuck or Herc from falling off a ladder." Aleksis asked, obviously not wanting to hover but also wanting to stay at the house just in case.

"Uh yeah, the new lights are on the bench in the garage. You sure?" Raleigh asked.

"Cheung just got his cast removed, da---" Aleksis began but was cut off when Keegan scolded him and told him to be nice. Keegan was trying to stop the tense relationship between the Russian jaeger pilots and the Chinese jaeger pilots and make it friendlier.

"Sorry, Little Becket-Hansen. I meant to say, we don't need any more broken bones in the family." Aleksis said, and Keegan nodded and murmured an agreement.

"Sure, okay. Thanks, Aleksis." Raleigh thanked the Russian and waved his hand in acknowledgement as he made his way to the garage. Sasha followed after her husband saying that she would be helping him.

"Do you mind if Sasha and Aleksis stay for dinner?" Raleigh asked.

"They're most likely not going to leave. They're also very protective." Raleigh added.

"That's fine. I would very much like to get to know your family if you're okay with that?" Richard spoke.

"Oh, that's a lot of people! We've got a huge family! Papa says we could be the UN with all the people in our family!" Keegan exclaimed and laughed.

"It's true, we're big and spread out all over, but yeah, I'll tell you about them if you'd like." Raleigh added onto his daughter's statement.

"I'm going to go grab some photo albums. I will be back." Keegan told the three adults and walked away to get the photo albums.

"She's a pistol." Richard chuckled.

"Oh, she definitely is. She gets a lot of that from Chuck and his father, Herc. She also gets it from Jazmine, as well." Raleigh laughed.

"I couldn't help but notice that they called her 'Little Becket-Hansen' is that a nickname?" Linda asked.

"Yeah, it's something only Sasha and Aleksis call her. When I was a pilot, they'd call me 'Little Becket' and they'd call Chuck ‘Little Hansen.’ When we adopted her, she stole their hearts and has had them wrapped around her finger since. They added ‘little’ to her last name, that's where it comes from. I think, it's hard to know what the Kaidonovskys think or are thinking." Raleigh explained.

"Her last name is Becket-Hansen?" Richard asked, a look of confusion spreading across his face.

"Yeah, when Chuck and I married we hyphenated our last names. His was Hansen. Jazmine introduced me in Alaska as Raleigh Becket-Hansen, because we took both last names to prevent a war breaking out over which last name we'd use." Raleigh said, as Richard and Linda nodded their heads in understanding.

"That's how I found you. I searched the internet for both a Raleigh Becket which only brought up articles about jaeger pilots and such. Then I remembered that Jazmine introduced you as Raleigh Becket-Hansen so I searched that and ended up finding you. That sounds creepy but I really wanted to fix things." Linda explained.

"Got 'em!" Keegan exclaimed as she stumbled into the room carrying four big photo albums.

"Shit, Keegan, that's a lot. Here let me take a few." Raleigh jumped up and tried to take three of the albums but his stubborn daughter only let him take two.

"I'm perfectly capable of carrying them myself, as you can tell, I made it all the way here with them. Also, you swore, you're not supposed to swear, Daddy! I'm telling Papa when we Skype with him later." Keegan replied in her best authoritative and sassy voice, setting the books on the table and putting her hands on her hips.

"My apologies, Keegs. Yes, I can see you're capable. I was just trying to be a gentleman." Raleigh laughed.

"Perhaps I can overlook it this time, but I'm telling Papa next time you swear." Keegan told him setting the books on the table and Raleigh stacked them with the other two books.

"I brought the first one we made, two from the middle, and the most recent one we made. Covering all the bases. But we have lots more! Daddy and I like taking pictures and capturing memories and Aunt Mako helps me turn them into scrapbooks." Keegan informed the three adults.

"Sounds good to me." Richard said and for the first time in a long time Raleigh saw a genuine smile on his father's face, sure it was small but it was still there.

"Hmm. We maybe should move to the couch, that way everyone can see the pictures." Keegan suggested.

"Lead the way, dear." Linda said and the three adults stood and followed Keegan. Raleigh carried the four scrapbooks and wondered how the hell she had managed to carry all four of them, they were heavy and that's saying a lot.

Once the four of them were seated in the living room, Raleigh in the middle of the couch, Keegan on his lap, with Richard and Linda on each side of them.

"Let's start from the beginning, does that sound good?" Keegan said and opened the first book before anyone could answer.

"Oh, yeah, that wasn't a question" She said when Raleigh laughed.

"This is a promotional picture of Uncle Yancy and Daddy when they were jaeger pilots. That's their Jaeger, Gipsy Danger." Keegan said and pointed to a picture of Raleigh and Yancy in their leather jackets with Gipsy in the background. He remembered that day quite clearly.

"Do you know how many pictures they had to take before they got one they liked?" Raleigh asked and Keegan shook her head.

"Thirty-two, they kept saying we weren't tough looking while also down to earth looking. On picture thirty-one, Yancy said that the next one would be the last and they'd just have to find one they liked. This was picture thirty-two, we didn't even try posing." Raleigh said, memories of the day coming back to him.

"This is Uncle Tendo Choi, he worked with Daddy and Uncle Yancy in Alaska, and he also worked later with Daddy and Papa when they closed the Breach." Keegan said and pointed to a picture of Yancy and Tendo engaged in a staring contest. She then pointed to another picture of Tendo where you could see his face as he smiled while recounting a story in the cafeteria.

"These next pages take place in 2025 when Daddy helped close the Breach." Keegan said and turned the page. Raleigh was thankful his daughter skipped the few pages of Raleigh and Yancy pictures. His father could look at those later.

"That's Aunt Mako Mori. She was Daddy's second copilot. She helps me make these scrapbooks." Keegan said and pointed to a picture of Mako standing outside the Hong Kong 'Dome waiting for the helicopter that was bringing Raleigh to the 'Dome. She had her coat on, umbrella open and above her, her hair was flying in the wind, she had a pensive look on her face. She looked beautiful Raleigh thought.

"That's right before I met Mako. In the picture, she's actually waiting for the helicopter that I was on." Raleigh said, before Keegan could move onto the next picture.

Keegan went through the books faster than she normally would, Raleigh figured she was reading the room and going faster just in case. Before Raleigh knew it, she was on the most recent one.

"This was the Fourth of July, this is the whole family. I told everyone they had to wear red, white, or blue or a combination of the colors. That's why everyone's matching." Keegan explained as she pointed to a few pictures from that night.

"This was Jazmine's first time meeting everyone but Mako." Keegan said as she pointed to a picture of Jazmine, Stacker, and Tendo talking. 

"Those two are Uncle Newt and Uncle Hermann; beside them are Uncle Tendo and his wife Alison." Keegan said as she pointed to a picture that Keegan had taken of the four of them, Dr. Gottlieb's signature frown missing.

"The three identical triplets next to Mako are Cheung, Jin, and Hu Wei. Cheung's the one with the broken leg; I took care of him while he was recovering. I'm his doctor." Keegan explained and moved on to another picture.

"Keegs, you're going a little fast, give 'em a chance to look at the pictures, yeah?" Raleigh laughed.

"Oops. Sorry." Keegan apologized.

"It's okay, dear." Linda said, and Keegan nodded.

"That's Grandpa Herc with Mako's father, Stacker Pentecost." Keegan said, waiting patiently until told to continue.

"This was from last Halloween, I was Little Red Riding Hood, Daddy was the wolf, and Papa was the Hunter." Keegan said, pointing to a picture of the three Becket-Hansens at Mako's Halloween party.

She turned the pages and continued providing commentary. She pointed out a few more pictures providing commentary for them as well. This was a page with pictures of the three of them.

"This is when Papa and I were sick and Daddy took care of us.” Keegan pointed to a picture of Chuck and Keegan curled up sleeping covered in blankets.

“This is when Papa was sick because of some medicine he was taking. We brought him breakfast in bed. He fell asleep after we ate, I was in the middle of telling him what Mr. Frogie, who is a frog, had done to Master Guin, my stuffed penguin, when he fell asleep!" Keegan exclaimed, pointing to a picture of the three of them, Chuck asleep with Keegan smiling on one side and Raleigh on the side, a big grin on both Keegan and Raleigh's face.

She explained a couple of the other pages before turning to the first page with her and Jazmine.

"This is Aunt Jazmine and me at the mall on the day before Mother's Day. We’d gone to a Mother's Day party before this was taken held by a classmate. We left the party though, it wasn't fun. Aunt Jazmine and I decided to go to the mall, go shopping and get ice cream instead." Keegan explained pointing to a picture Jazmine had taken of the two of them eating ice cream.

"That's Aunt Sasha and me. We fell asleep on the couch." Keegan explained the picture of Keegan and Sasha curled up on the couch. Raleigh had taken pictures and Sasha had approved of the picture being in the photo album. 

Keegan skipped ahead to the pictures of her with her many uncles.

"In this picture, Uncle Aleksis and I are eating Oreos, our favorite. Aunt Sasha took it. They were babysitting me and we went to the store to get Oreos. For the record, red velvet Oreos are an offense to real red velvet." Keegan said and pointed to a picture of Keegan and Aleksis sitting at the table with an Oreo in each hand.

"This is my favorite picture with Uncle Hermann! He usually looks grumpy but we were watching a documentary on mathematic influence in history and he's a mathematician so he was happy to watch it. The body you see lying on the floor, that's Uncle Newt. He's pretending to be asleep. He doesn't like mathematic documentaries but watches them because Hermann likes them." Keegan pointed to a picture of her and Hermann sitting on the couch, Newt lying on the floor in front of the couch.

"Aunt Jazmine took it. She lives with them. The three of them rent an apartment." Keegan added and Richard looked at Raleigh with a somewhat concerned expression.

"They're harmless. She's the only one other than Keegan and Stacker who can get the two to stop fighting. She enjoys it; she gets to take care of them, which is something she likes doing." Raleigh said.

"I never would have let her move in with them if I didn't think they were okay. They helped close the Breach in Hong Kong. They're good guys." Raleigh added.

"Good." Richard said, nodding his head.

The four finished the photo albums and it was still a while before dinner, however, Keegan had begun telling stories about the family and everyone. Sasha and Aleksis had come inside and had sat down in the living room with the other four.

"So I asked the EMT about the scratch on Cheung's shoulder and she didn't know there was one there so she let me bandage it up! That was the best ambulance ride ever! Aside from Cheung being in pain, of course, that wasn’t fun." Keegan was recounting the events of the ambulance ride to the hospital when Cheung had broken his leg.

"Little Becket-Hansen, that's the only time you've been in an ambulance and your parents would die of heart attacks if you ever rode in one again." Sasha pointed out. Raleigh nodded his head in agreement. 

Keegan was in the middle of telling a story about Jin teaching Keegan how to do laundry after her pestering him to teach her how, when the door opened.

Jazmine hesitantly walked in, taking a deep breath when she spotted Richard and Linda. Keegan abandoned her story and ran towards Jazmine. Jazmine crouched down to catch Keegan as she launched herself at her aunt.

"I got off work early." Jazmine said, awkwardly as she looked around the room.

"Aleksis, Keegan, perhaps we should go get dinner started." Sasha spoke and dragged her husband off towards the kitchen, Keegan and Max following.

“So Sasha said that you were here because you wanted to apologize and fix things.” Jazmine said, as Richard nodded.

“I’m incredibly sorry about what happened in Alaska. And I want to be a part of your life, if you’ll let me.” Richard said.

“No.” Jazmine gritted out.

“No, you don’t get to show up on Raleigh’s porch and say sorry and expect me to let you into my life as if nothing happened. You don’t get to miraculously show up and expect me to call you daddy as if you never left us to go play house with someone else!” Jazmine shouted and made her way towards their father, standing in front of him. 

Raleigh and Linda gave Jazmine space but stayed close enough that they could intervene if necessary. They both knew these were things Jazmine needed to get out.

“A father is there for his family when they need them. I needed you! I needed you so many times! And you weren’t there! You were nowhere to be seen! I had to learn to take care of myself at a very young age because of you. So no, you don’t get to come back out of the blue and expect to be able to be daddy.” Jazmine cried.

“I’m sorry, Jazmine. I wish I had never hurt you.” Richard spoke in a broken voice.

“However…” Jazmine began.

“I’m willing to give you a chance to make up for it all. I’m giving you a chance to be in my life, not as a father, Richard. That’s a title that’s earned. I can’t guarantee you’ll ever earn that title again but I’m giving you a chance to try. Just know this, if you do anything to hurt me, I have a family full of people who are willing to kill you but I will kick your ass myself. I can’t guarantee you’ll earn the title of father again but I can guarantee that if you hurt me, I will hurt you back. That’s a promise. Do you understand?” Jazmine finished.

“Yes, I understand and I will do everything in my power to never hurt you again. Thank you. I will do everything I can to fix things. I know it won’t be easy but I’m willing to work hard. I lost two important people to me and I don’t want to lose anymore, not if I can help it.” Richard spoke and Jazmine nodded.

“You know, I still don’t understand why you gave me a key to your house when you don’t lock your front door.” Jazmine said to Raleigh, breaking the tension in the room.

“I mean, I joke about not wanting to be the idiot who comes into your house without permission but still, brother, you’ve gotta lock your door.” Jazmine added.

“I lock the door! It’s Chuck who doesn’t. Besides we lock it at night.” Raleigh defended.

“Lies, Rals. Every time I come over, the door’s unlocked. I think it was even unlocked the night I showed up on your doorstep and saw you for the first time since I left.” Jazmine said.

“Take that up with Chuck; he’s the one that actively doesn’t lock the door.” Raleigh shot back.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You two survived a nuclear explosion so you can take ‘em.” Jazmine replied and waved her hand.

“Raleigh, where’s your pancake mix?” Sasha called out from the kitchen.

“Uh, hold on. Let me come find it.” Raleigh said and motioned for the other three adults to come with him into the kitchen and dining room. Raleigh went to one of their kitchen cupboards and began searching for the pancake mix. 

"Let's sit." Keegan said and led Linda, Jazmine and Richard to the table to sit.

After finding the pancake mix he was handed a bowl by Sasha and a whisk. She gave him a look that didn’t require any words for him to know that he was in charge of the pancakes. Aleksis gave him a look reminding him not to fight her on it, from where the tall man was standing at the stove cooking bacon and sausages. 

"A nuclear explosion?" Linda asked with a confused look on her face.

“We had to blow up the Breach in order to close it. It's a long story, but the short version is, both mine and Mako's Jaeger and Chuck and Herc's Jaeger blew up with nuclear explosives." Raleigh said.

"Are you okay? I mean, I know it's been three years since the Breach was closed but did it leave any lasting effects?" Linda asked in a worried voice.

"Not a whole lot of bad physical effects, mostly just a lot of scarring." Raleigh replied and looked at Sasha, she knew he hated talking about this and would hopefully change the subject.

"We don't lock our door either. But that is more of Aleksis practically begging for an intruder to come in." Sasha spoke up and Aleksis laughed a booming laugh from where he was standing.

"What do you want me to say? I'm bored." Aleksis merely stated with a shrug causing Raleigh to laugh.

"Perhaps you should've taken a job as a prison guard instead of a construction job." Raleigh said already knowing what Aleksis' answer was.

"It is my wish to rebuild the world, I can go back to being a prison guard when I am finished helping the world. I am a jaeger pilot, after all." Aleksis spoke determinedly.

“Besides, guards who abuse prisoners are not good people. I dislike them with all my being.” Aleksis added.

“That’s a big being.” Keegan said giggling, Aleksis let out a loud booming laugh causing the other adults to laugh as well.

"So, Jazmine, what do you do for a living?" Linda asked Jazmine.

"I currently work in a bookstore but there's a job at the PPDC that I've been offered, it will allow me to attend school and get a degree." Jazmine explained.

"So you decided to take the babysitting job, Jaz?" Raleigh joked.

Linda and Richard looked at Jazmine with a mixture of confused and curious on their faces.

"Doctor Newt Geiszler and Doctor Hermann Gottlieb now run the K-Science division in the PPDC; however, they get sidetracked with science. Marshal Pentecost offered me a job to be the liaison between the Marshal and the other parts of the PPDC and the K-Science division. I understand the doctors and am able to get them to do what they need to do. So everyone jokes about it being a babysitting job but really I'm just making sure they don't run the division into the ground and starve to death or kill each other." Jazmine explained.

"It is an admirable job. You’re one of the few people who can get those two to behave." Sasha added and Jazmine nodded in thanks.

Once dinner was done, the seven of them sat down at the table to eat. They shared stories, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. The companionable atmosphere making it seem almost as if they’d been friends for years. The two Becket siblings shared a look, knowing what each other was thinking; Raleigh and Jazmine knew in that moment that their family had grown bigger.

As Keegan said before, you can never have too much family.

**Author's Note:**

> One of the first things my mother said after reading this was, "Jelaire, you need to write them meeting their half-sibling(s)!" I think I may write one with that happening. (May, no guarantees.)
> 
> I really wanted Linda to be a good person. I really didn't want her to be that stereotypical evil step-mother, I wanted her to genuinely care about these two (Raleigh and Jazmine). I've met some great mothers like Linda and they don't get the props they deserve so this is my tribute to them. 
> 
> I really enjoy writing Chuck and Herc interacting and in case you guys haven't noticed, I LOVE writing the Kaidonovskys! 
> 
> I plan to write a family event with the whole PPDC family and Linda and Richard, a first meeting event. Not sure when I will write it though. I'm currently writing a two part Sasha and Keegan bonding fic.
> 
> Thank you all so much for the support!


End file.
